A fire, blank white paper and a revolution. Here’s how the biggest protests since Tiananmen Square started.
What’s Going On?
People across China are holding unprecedented mass anti-government protests after a fire killed 10 people who were in a strict COVID lockdown.
Protests of this scale have not been seen in China since Tiananmen Square and have since become a global movement, with people around the world holding up blank sheets of white paper in solidarity with Chinese protesters.
How Did The Protests Start?
Protests erupted on Friday Nov. 25 after a fire broke out at an apartment complex in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, at around 7:50pm local time on Thursday.
The fire, which killed 10 people and injured at least nine, was not extinguished until three hours later, and protestors say the strict lockdown had slowed down the rescue process.
What Is China’s Zero COVID Policy?
As part of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s plan to completely eradicate COVID-19, cities with COVID outbreaks are placed under strict lockdowns.
Residents under these lockdowns, which have taken place in multiple cities including Shanghai, have reported not being able to access food, medicine and medical care.
Xinjiang has been under a lockdown for more than 100 days. Residents have said they are being forced into quarantine and don’t have access to food, medicine and daily necessities.
“No More Lockdowns. We Want Freedom”
Vigils for the victims of the fire have turned into protests, with demonstrators calling for an end to the country’s zero COVID-19 policy, with some even demanding Xi to step down.
Protesters have been chanting slogans written on a banner by Bridge Man, a man who held a one-man protest against Xi on a bridge in Beijing in October and sparked a global movement.
“We just want our basic human rights. We can’t leave our homes without getting a test. It was the accident in Xinjiang that pushed people too far,” a Shanghai protestor told Reuters.
What Is The A4 Revolution?
As the protest movement grew, demonstrators began holding up blank pieces of white paper to mourn the victims – white is a common funeral color in China – and as a form of protest.
The papers are also meant to represent all the things that everyone knows but cannot say.
“People have a common message. They know what they want to express, and authorities know too, so people don’t need to say anything. If you hold a blank sheet, then everyone knows what you mean,” a researcher on internet freedom at the University of California, Berkeley, told the New York Times.
Urumqi Road
As protests grew, Chinese authorities on Sunday removed the road sign for “Middle Urumqi Road” in Shanghai, where protests had taken place.
A photo of construction workers walking away holding the sign has since gone viral and become a huge meme.
The road sign has also become a symbol associated with the protests
How Has The Government Responded?
Urumqi’s mayor has apologized to residents over the fire, but local officials have denied locked doors and restriction led to the deaths.
Videos on social media have shown police arresting individuals, including a BBC reporter, at protests in different cities.
Posts about the protests were swiftly removed from Chinese social media.
The Chinese government has yet to officially comment on the protests, but it has begun deploying more police, increasing surveillance and preventing people from gathering at major protest sites.
What Does It Mean?
As Xi begins a historic third term, protests – which are rare in China – have started becoming more public, following the one-man protest on the bridge in Beijing, which inspired a global movement.
In recent weeks, thousands of workers in Guangzhou and at Apple’s largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou also held major protests over lockdowns.
On Saturday Nov. 26, authorities said they were relaxing restrictions in Urumqi.
Officials also announced earlier in November that they were easing restrictions but sticking to zero COVID.
Although the scale of the latest protests is undoubtedly unprecedented, there are fears that there may be further crackdowns based on how Chinese authorities responded to the protests in Hong Kong.
